International Jury

GALINA SHIRINSKAYA, Moscow Conservatory of Music         Professor, honoured artist of Russian Federation (2003), twice award holder of the International competition named by Tchaikovskiy (1974, 1990), All-Russian cellists competition and cellists competition in Belgrad as an accompanist. Graduated from Moscow conservatory (class of professor T. Nikolaeva, 1973). Then she graduated from postgraduate assistantship course at Leningrad conservatory with professor P. Serebryakov and V. Ivanova. In 1989 was invited to teach to the department of chamber music ensembles and quartet of Moscow conservatory, where she still teaches. Also she teaches the course of chamber ensembles at Moscow State musical institute, named by A. Shnitke.  Shirinskaya is a Head of the chamber ensembles department at State Musical-Pedagogical institute named by M. Ippolitov-Ivanov.  G. Shirinskaya conducts master classes of piano and chamber ensembles in Russia, France, Spain, USA, South Korea.         G. Shirinskaya took part in jury's work in the competition of piano duets in Moscow, 2002, International competition "Modern Art and Education" 2007 and competition of piano ensembles, dedicated to the 100-years anniversary of D. Shostakovitch in Moscow, 2006. KATSUNORI ISHII, Tokyo College of Music         It was 1990 when a young pianist at age of 20 won third place in the prestigious 59th Japan Music Competition. Since then, Katsunori Ishii has appeared as a soloist with all of the major orchestras in Japan. In the summer of 1992, young Ishii was off to the Tanglewood Music Center where he was invited to join the fellowship program at Tanglewood Music Institute. It was there that he studied under Leon Fleisher, Gilbert Kalish, Peter Serkin and Garrik Ohlsson, some of the greatest piano talent of the time. In the following year he was a prize winner at the 10th Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition in Cleveland.           Back in Tokyo, Katsunori Ishii appeared as a soloist in several recital series sponsored by the Van Cliburn Foundation Japan Committee and the Japanese Cultural Agency. He received the J. Fiedelman Piano Prize in 1996 while also graduating with a master’s degree from Mannes College of Music in New York. He has given numerous concerts at various festivals including the Gilmore Keyboard Festival in Michigan and the Csehy Summer Festival in Philadelphia. While in Germany in 1996, he studied with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling at the Stiftung Schleswig Holstein Music Festival in Lübeck under a full scholarship. In the following year he won first prize at both the Japanese-American International Piano Competition in New York and the Hamamatsu International Piano academy Competition in Japan.         Katsunori Ishii has performed with numerous orchestras including the Japan Philharmonie Orchestra, Tokyo City Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, Costa Rica National Orchestra, Cayuga Chamber Orchestra New York and under conductors such as Golo Berg, Christian Mandel, Jorge Mester, Junichi Hirokami, Kimbo Ishii-Eto. Along with his numerous achievements on solo piano, Katsunori Ishii also perform chamber music concerts, having appeared with such chamber icons as Werner Trip and Dennis Shappovalov. He is currently a faculty member of piano at Tokyo College of Music in Japan and offers master classes at many other academies. He is also a member of Experts & Screening Committee the 7th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition 2009. KEVIN FITZ-GERALD, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music         Pianist Kevin Fitz-Gerald enjoys a versatile performing career as recitalist, orchestra soloist, and chamber musician. His performances have garnered international acclaim and he has been recognized for his “hypnotically powerful and precise” pianism and “dynamic and distinguished” interpretations. His concert tours and performances have taken place in major concert halls, universities, and concert organizations throughout the United States, Canada, Japan, Australia, South America, the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean. Notable venues include Carnegie Recital Hall (New York), The Mormon Tabernacle (Utah), National Arts Centre (Ottawa), Roy Thompson Hall (Toronto), Place des Arts (Montreal), Izumi Hall (Osaka), Suntory Hall (Tokyo), National Gallery (Kingston), and Town Hall (Melbourne). He has appeared with several Canadian and American orchestras, including the Toronto Symphony, Montreal Symphony, Canadian Chamber Orchestra, CBC Radio Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Los Angeles Cameratta, Utah Chamber Orchestra, and the Mormon Tabernacle Orchestra at Temple Square. Recent orchestral performances have included concerti by Dvorak, Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Mendelssohn, Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Berg, and Poulenc.         Fitz-Gerald’s concerts have frequently been recorded for local, national, and international radio and television networks in Canada, the U.S., South America, France, Japan, and Australia. His CD recordings can be found on the Summit, Quatro Corde, AFCM, and GM Records labels. In constant demand as a chamber musician, he has collaborated with internationally renowned artists such as Patrick Gallois, Stephen Isserlis, Richard Stolzman, Alan Civil, Camilla Wicks, Midori, Eudice Shapiro, Milton Thomas, Karen Tuttle, Donald McInnes, Ronald Leonard, the Bartok, St. Petersburg, and St. Lawrence String Quartets. For many years, Fitz-Gerald was studio pianist in summer programs for some of the leading artist teachers of our time, including William Primrose, Lillian Fuchs, Zara Nelsova, Janos Starker, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, Zoltan Szekely, Lorand Fenyves, and Marcel Moyse. He regularly performs two-piano and four-hand recitals with Bernadene Blaha, appearing at prestigious festivals, conventions, music teacher’s symposiums, and concert venues throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. The Blaha/Fitz-Gerald Duo has performed extensively throughout Canada under the auspices of the Piano Six program, the Canada Council Touring Office, and the Cross Country Classics program.         Fitz-Gerald also enjoys an international reputation as a teacher, presenting masterclasses and lecture-symposiums throughout the world. His students have been prize-winners in many major piano and chamber music competitions, including the Rubinstein International Piano Competition, Vilna International Piano Competition, IBLA International Piano Competition, American Orff-Schullwerke International Competition, ARD International Piano Competition, the Music Teacher’s National Association national competition, Los Angeles Liszt International Piano Competition, Jean Francaix International Competition, Canadian National Music Competitions, and the Colman National Chamber Music Competition. Today his students can be found winning competitions, performing, recording, and teaching at many of the finest conservatories and universities throughout the world. In addition to his position as associate professor at the USC Thornton School, Fitz-Gerald is also a regular visiting artist teacher at the Banff School of Fine Arts, a frequent masterclass teacher at the Colburn School for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, the Aria International Summer Institute in Indiana, as well as visiting faculty at many other national and international music festivals and institutions throughout Canada and the U.S.         Born in Kelowna, British Columbia, Fitz-Gerald was a full scholarship student at the Victoria Conservatory of Music, The Banff Centre School of Fine Arts, and the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, where his principal teachers were Marek Jablonski, Robin Wood, and Alma Brock-Smith. In addition, he has worked extensively with Menahem Pressler, John Perry, Gyorgy Sebok, and Leon Fleisher. He has won several prestigious competitions, grants, and awards, including the Du Maurier Search for the Stars, CBC National Radio Auditions, and the Young Artists’ National Piano Competition. PHILLIP MANN, Music Director of Arkansas Symphony         Hailed by the BBC as a "talent to watch out for, who conveys a mature command of his forces," American conductor Philip Mann is quickly gaining a reputation as a dynamic artist on three continents. Currently, Mann is an American Conducting Fellow and the San Diego Symphony's Assistant Conductor, where he conducts Subscription Masterworks, Symphony Exposed, family, education, Kinder Konzert, pops, and other special programs. The winner of the Vienna Philharmonic's Karajan Fellowship at the Salzburg Festival, Mann has also served as cover conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra and as the Schmidt Conducting Fellow of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Active in both symphonic and operatic repertory, Mann has served as music director of the Oxford City Opera, Oxford Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra/Oxford Pops, principal guest conductor of the Arizona Camerata, and assistant conductor of the Indiana University Opera Theater. He maintains an active schedule as a guest conductor, with his New York debut at Avery Fischer Hall. As a proponent of new and American music, he has conducted numerous world premiers of prominent composers, including John Corigliano. Elected a Rhodes Scholar, he taught at Oxford, and won the annual competition to become principal conductor of the Oxford University Philharmonia. Under his leadership, the Philharmonia received international attention, and the Swedish press acclaimed their Brahms Symphony No. 4 as "perfectly skillful...joyful... overwhelming."         While in England, Mann studied with Alan Hazeldine of London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Colin Metters at the Royal Academy of Music, and Marios Papadopolous of the Oxford Philomusica. He worked with Leonard Slatkin and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center's National Conducting Institute and Michael Tilson Thomas at the New World Symphony. Mentorship with Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jorma Panula followed at the Los Angeles Philharmonic's Conducting Masterclasses. He has also worked under Imre Pallo, David Effron, John Poole, and Thomas Baldner at Indiana University where he was appointed visiting lecturer in orchestral conducting. Additional studies came under the Bolshoi Theater's music director, Alexander Vedernikov at the Moscow State Conservatory, Gustav Meir, Kenneth Keisler, and with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Robert Ward at the Conductor's Institute at Spoleto.         Trained as a violinist, Mann has appeared as a soloist, concertmaster, and chamber player in the US and abroad. He is the recipient of numerous awards including a commendation from the Lieutenant Governor of California, ASU Herberger College of Fine Arts Outstanding Graduate Award, and a service award from the mayor of the city of Chandler, Arizona.